Joy & Longing (A Poem)

As the war goes on, hostages are brought home, I can’t help but pray, For those who are still being held in captivity, For those whose families have been grieving for months. The fallen soldier, The hostage, The massacred, The displaced, The brother, The friend, The mother, The sister, The father, The boyfriend, The wife, The children, The teacher, The bus driver... The fifteen million strong family, who survives against all odds... As we are all in pain, we are also celebrating. Celebrating the return of our brothers & sisters, Rescued by the heroes of our God-given army. The joy is overwhelming, The longing to see the return of each hostage, is equally strong, Mixed feelings of joy & longing, But a spark goes off, Noticing the joy in the moment, But the reality behind it, How is Mia, Itay, Liam? And all those already brought home, With scares of war imprinted on their chests. No one sees them, But they come alive when looking in the mirror, A pain so close and hard to describe... An experience almost no one can empathize, Heightened joy, when coming home, But over time, what happens to the pain? Where does it go? Does it simply go away? It’s hard to say... It may take time to untangle the knots, Of fear, Of pain, The trauma driven instincts developed in captivity, Reality blurred, going from complete darkness to basking in the light. If you’ve been through trauma, Even hearing one scream, a gunshot or a bomb, Or running for shelter with a rocket overhead, you know... You can be brought back to that moment, at any given time. And how much more so for those released, from the dark dungeons of mid-evil barbarians... A death cult rapist army, Of sodomy, and mutilation. The pain must be so great we cannot imagine. So, my prayer for Noa, Almog, Andrey, and Shlomi, And all those released from captivity, Is that they find the peace they knew before, That no more will they experience, any more pain, in any way, That their friends and family will surround them in support, And see it through, until the end, To see the pain dissolve into the past... Like a drip of blue dye, in the Mediterranean Sea. Like a bad dream buried by a morning coffee... May the light of freedom, being released from bondage, Be a source of inspiration, and illumination of peace & calm, And may the homecoming celebrations go on forever, That every day of life will be a celebration of joy, That they will live in health, happiness, and positivity, And always be surrounded by those who love them... With no more fear, With complete healing, With love of self, And be a source of light, and strength, to those who surround... For years to come... -Joseph Rothvogel